Two University of Newcastle cardiovascular specialists have been awarded $1.2 million in medical research funding to improve heart health in the Hunter.
The funding will support research into how babies' health is affected by air pollution from coal mining and bushfires during pregnancy.
The research will examine their risk of developing heart and lung disease later in life.
Additionally, researchers will examine cancer drug combinations that fight tumours and protect the heart.
And a telehealth cardio-oncology service will be established in the Hunter to improve access to specialist cardiovascular care in regional and rural areas.
About 2500 people die from cardiovascular disease in Hunter New England each year, while more than 20,000 hospitalisations occur for the disease.
The Minns government announced the funding under its Cardiovascular Research Capacity Program, a $150 million commitment over a decade, which aims to improve the cardiovascular health of people in NSW.
NSW Minister for Medical Research David Harris said the grant "supports some of the best and brightest minds in cardiovascular research".
"Professor Aaron Sverdlov and Dr Tatt Jhong Haw's important research is helping ensure people in regional communities receive equitable access to healthcare," Mr Harris said.
Minister for the Hunter Yasmin Catley said it was "a big win for the Hunter".
"This funding will help drive research that has the potential to change lives, while making sure some of our brightest clinicians and researchers can continue their work," Ms Catley said.
Professor Sverdlov received about $750,000 to work on drug combinations and the telehealth service.
"We want to be proactive, rather than being reactive in waiting for people to develop a heart problem during cancer treatment and then having to fix it," he said.
"We want to risk-assess the patient before the cancer treatment, or as they're starting it, and get them on the right combination of anti-cancer drugs to ensure protection."
Drugs such as chemotherapy, radiation and immunotherapy can cause side effects such as high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms and heart failure.
The research, done at the Newcastle Centre of Excellence in Cardio-Oncology, aims to prevent or improve cardiovascular damage and help cancer drugs be more effective.
The centre, led by professors Sverdlov and Ngo, is working on several anti-cancer drugs that protect the heart.
The telehealth service is a smaller part of the grant.
Professor Sverdlov said his team was "trying to ensure people who live far away can access specialised care".
"We've already done a pilot in Maitland, providing cardio-oncology service by telehealth to 50 patients," he said.
"The grant will extend that beyond Maitland through the Hunter and up to Tamworth and New England.
"Something needs to be done. Those people are really disadvantaged. They get such poor access to services."
Cardio-respiratory researcher Dr Haw received a $450,000 grant.
Dr Haw said his research "aims to identify early molecular warning signs of prenatal pollution exposure".
He said this would help develop "future predictive tests and preventive health interventions and protect the lifelong heart and lung health of children in regional NSW".
The aim was to influence public health policy and "protect children's futures from the effects of environmental pollution".
He said the grant would help establish a regional hub, which would use global partnerships to develop proactive screening tools.
